Springtime snowstorm blankets Colfax

Kim Palaferri/Colfax RecordDriving hilly Marvin Avenue could have been risky Sunday morning as City of Colfax road crews had not yet plowed the street. The Colfax Hotel building can be seen at the bottom of the hill.

Kim Palaferri/Colfax RecordThe intersection of Main and Grass Valley streets is a slushy mess. Colfax received 4 inches of snow on Sunday.

Kim Palaferri/Colfax RecordDale Shuttleworth, left, and Alan Shuttleworth, of Colfax, take a walk in the snow near the Colfax Railroad Junction building, the freight depot. Alan Shuttleworth said that whenever it snows in Colfax, it’s a reminder of prior times in their lives when they lived in New York.

Kim Palaferri/Colfax RecordSnow covers the limbs of evergreen and deciduous trees along South Auburn Street in Colfax Sunday morning. The storm dropped four inches of snow and record-setting rainfall.

Area residents awoke to a white wonderland Sunday morning. As much as 4 inches of snow fell throughout the day Sunday.
Precipitation total in Colfax, from March 14-20, was 11.5 inches, according to Record weatherman Mike Crum. That included a record-setting 2.55 inches of rain on March 14 and 3.13 inches of rain, also a record for the day, on March 16. The season’s total precipitation, through Tuesday, is 28.98 inches, compared to last year’s total 44.07 inches. Average yearly precipitation is 42.80 inches.
According to Todd Kettwig, public information officer for the California Highway Patrol Gold Run office, over the weekend there were about a dozen traffic collisions, resulting in several minor injuries.
“At times we obviously had to hold traffic so that we could clear the scene and safely reopen the roadway,” Kettwig said.
Kettwig said safety should be the main focus of drivers. “If you are involved in a non-injury or minor injury collision and can safely clear the roadway, please go to the next exit or to a wide area that’s adjacent to the highway,” he said. He also reminded motorists to “reduce speed in inclement weather, especially in the snow and rain, and please keep wearing those seat belts and utilizing child safety seats.”
Alan Shuttleworth, of Colfax, said he and his wife, Dale, grew up in New York and sometimes get a little homesick for snow. Sunday morning, the Shuttleworths – California residents for 35 years – did what they always did when they lived on the East Coast: They went for a walk in the fresh snow.
“It’s a reminder of prior times in our lives, something special,” Shuttleworth said. “That was part of our dating ritual, when it was snowing … She wanted to be the first person to be on the road.”
While Friday is expected to be a dry day in the region, Johnny Powell, of the National Weather Service in Sacramento, said rain is moving in Saturday.
“There’s a chance for rain throughout the weekend,” Powell said. “Highs will be in the upper 50s, lows in the mid-40s while it rains.” Monday night, temperatures are predicted to be in the mid-30s, he said.
Tom Dang, also a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said some areas of the Sierra saw 108 inches of snow from the storm. Even though the storm gave resorts a reason to celebrate, there is still a precipitation deficit.
“It has just been such dry for so long this winter it is going to be really hard to catch up,” Dang said. “This actually did really well for our water storage.”
Sarah Seyddin contributed to this report